LIFE | It’s been three crazy months. Have you missed me?

It’s been a while since I last posted, hasn’t it? A little over three months, yeah?

Whoops.

I realise it’s a bit rude to just abruptly stop posting for such a long period without any explanation, but hey, I do have a good excuse for my disappearance.

I’ve finally moved to the UK to live with my husband!

That’s right, after six-and-a-half years of a mostly long-distance relationship (note: do not recommend), Dave and I have finally managed to sort out that whole visa situation. We’re finally able to exist as a real-life “normal” couple. Amazing, right?

Let me catch you up.

How did I get the visa?

Remember when Dave and I got married back in August? That was mainly because we love each other (It’s true, I swear). But along with that whole solidifying of our union thing, it also meant that I could finally apply for a family visa… after we gathered six months’ worth of pay slips proving that he was earning the income necessary to sponsor me as his wife.

Well, it took longer than I wanted it to to receive a response (it was only a month of waiting but it felt like forever), but near the end of the month my paperwork finally came back. Inside, stamped in my new passport with my newly married name, was my family visa. I finally had permission to join Dave in the UK!

I honestly don’t know how to accurately describe the range of emotions that came with receiving that visa. Happiness because it finally meant we could be together, sadness because I knew I’d miss my parents and dog, disbelief because it just didn’t feel real… I was a ball of emotions.

But I received my visa, we purchased my plane ticket, and after one last month of quality time with my family I boarded a plane in May to join Dave in London.

Has it been everything I dreamed of?

It’s been two months since I moved over and you may find yourself wondering, is it everything I dreamed of? Am I absolutely loving it?

Of course not.
But honestly, I didn’t expect any different.

I didn’t love it when I lived here for a year-and-a-half to pursue my Publishing MA. Transportations, crazy roads, lack of luxuries I took for granted at home like tumble dryers, all those things drove me crazy during my graduate degree. I knew returning those complaints would still be the same. (Well, except the tumble dryer. Dave’s family finally bought one of those!)

But there’s a lot here that’s great.

I have Dave, of course. There’s honestly nothing better than being able to actually spend time together in person when we want. And I have friends here. Quite a few friends. Which is absolutely shocking but also a great joy. Oh, and the publishing industry is here too. You know, that industry where I spent thousands upon thousands of dollars pursuing a degree for and did multiple unpaid work placements to try to get into? It’s nice to live in an area where following that effort up with a career is actually possible. (Well, hopefully. I haven’t managed to even snag an interview yet.)

So even though it’s not always great and I have my complaints (and don’t worry, I definitely plan on highlighting some of those in a future post because it’s too fun to complain not to), it’s nothing more or less than I expected. I’m (mostly) happy here.

And now, after three months of silence, I’m ready to blog again. So apologies for my absence, but I’m back. And I’m ready to fill your feed reader with silly observations, cartoonish illustrations, and media recommendations once again.

I hope you’re ready.

Let’s Chat

What have you been up to the past few months? Did you miss me? Even notice I was gone? Write any posts these last few months you really think I should check out? Let me know in the comments below!

It definitely has been a while! We need to catch up 🙂 I saw you sent me a DM on Instagram, we can chat over there if that’s your preferred medium but beware, I’m less used to chatting on there than Twitter so sometimes forget to check!

Are you planning on blogging again? You’re about as sporadic as I am. I loved your last post about marketing. It’s my preferred field to work in in the publishing industry. It’s just the perfect intersection between creative and business. I love it!

I have definitely noticed your absence, but I knew what you were up to so I forgive you. 😉 I love the illustration you made of yourself travelling to the UK, that’s so cute. I’ll be writing to you soon!

Thanks Inge! Definitely looking to receiving your letter, but no worries if it takes a while longer still. I still need to pick up international stamps over here. I got spoiled doing it in the US because I’d just use the self-service machines but I think I actually have to go to a counter and talk to people here and that just seems like so much more work, lol. Soon though!

Thanks Ashley! I tend to go through love/hate cycles with my illustrations but am also very happy with how this one turned out. I think convincing Dave I deserved an iPad for my birthday so I could start doing some digital art was a great decision. 😉

And yes, apologies once again for the slight hiccup due to my anniversary, but I am definitely looking forward to meeting you next month! It’s the best part about living here in the UK – it’s always so much easier to meet online friends. (No one ever wanted to visit Indiana.)

I’m glad you’re blogging again; I missed reading your posts. And as always, your illustration is perfect. I love that it shows how people actually travel (sweatpants for comfort!), and the two little flags on your suitcase and such a cute touch.

Anyway, as we’ve already discussed, I’m glad you can finally start your life in the UK with Dave. I’m sorry that comes with some drawbacks and frustrations, though. ❤

Thanks Kelley! That was actually an accurate representation of what I wore when I moved over here. I used to dress up for my flights knowing Dave would be the other end, but not any more. If I’m going to travel eight hours to see him, I’m going to be comfortable! 😂

Of course I noticed you were gone. I especially missed your drawings on IG (this one is great, btw), since I at least had some life updates via Twitter. As you know, I can definitely relate to this, except that I don’t have a single friend or career prospects, and it’s really getting me down. I also don’t have a dryer or a fan, haha. I’m looking forward to your complaint post so we can complain together! 😂

I’m glad to hear someone has missed my IG drawings, helps motivate me to do a bit more! Of course, the issue with illustrating for the blog is that I draw somewhat regularly and then they just sit there for ages until I finally manage to write up a post. Whoops.

I can’t believe you don’t even have a fan. Surely those aren’t that hard to get over there? Not that fans do much to help the problem. I’d need one even if it wasn’t hot though just because I can’t sleep without one. I find the noise comforting.

Yay! That’s so awesome you got a visa and have moved to the U.K to be with your husband. That’s such an exciting and I imagine quite scary thing to do. Where have you moved from? Heh, the roads in London are definitely crazy! I live near Southampton where it’s a bit quieter but I do enjoy visiting London occasionally, it’s such a fun city! Good luck snagging that interview, fingers crossed for you! Hope you continue to settle in and looking forward to reading your complaints post he he, it’s always good to get things off your chest! Great post Asti, thanks for sharing your exciting update ❤ xx

Thanks Bexa! Yes, it was definitely an exciting but scary move. Luckily since I had moved over here prior for my Master’s degree I sort of knew what to expect, but it was a little different time knowing the move was permament.

I moved over from Indiana, USA. It’s definitely a big change, moving to London from the state of corn. I lived about a two hour drive from Chicago so had visited big cities before but it’s definitely different being in one regularly.

I’ve not been to Southampton. Do you like it? It must be nice living so close to the coast! 🙂

I’m so glad you’re back blogging and also even more glad you’re finally with your husband like you want to be!! 💛I can’t even imagine how stressful it must be to have had to go through all that just to live with the person you love. Visas and such sound like mega stressful and complicated. But I’m glad it worked out and SO hope you get job in publishing!!

Haha, when I lived here during my studies Dave’s family didn’t own a dryer at all so after the clothes would either get hung up on a drying line in the back garden if the weather was nice or hung around the house to dry. I hated it. Not only did it take forever to dry, it meant there were clothes hanging everywhere in all the rooms and if left outside they usually would end up with spiders on them. It’s not that uncommon for people to still airdry their clothes over here, but I’m quite happy Dave’s family decided to finally buy a dryer because it’s so much more convenient. (Now if we could just get some air conditioning…)

Yes, I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have AC! I am feeling for you! It’s so interesting that dryers aren’t as big over there. I air dry a lot of my clothes but when it comes to towels and such I definitely want to use my dryer!